Prior art processors for personal computers have been mounted to baseboards, commonly called motherboards, using processor plug-in sockets which have pin and socket type electrical contacts which extend in a single planar region located beneath particular ones of the processors, such as zero-force insertion sockets. However, such planer, plug-in type processor sockets have a limited number of electrical contacts, as determined by the minimum spacing requirements between the contacts and the size of the space disposed in the planar region located beneath the processor. Further developments in processor technology have resulted in the need for an increased number of electrical contacts for providing multiple processing paths and database connections. Such advances in processor architecture should continue to increase the number of external electrical contacts required for processor operation than that which may be provided by conventional planer, plug-in type processor sockets. For example, present conventional processor architecture incorporates into a singular processor package a processor core and several auxiliary processing devices, such as TAGRAM, SRAM and MMX type multimedia technology processing components. Packaging of the processor core and the auxiliary processing devices into a singular package also results in an increase in the number of contacts required to electrically connect the processor to a system baseboard.
One current trend in processor packaging technology has resulted in use of single edge contact cartridge packages for housing a processor core and several auxiliary processing devices, such as SRAM, TAGRAM, and MMX processor devices. The processor core and the auxiliary processing devices are individually mounted directly to the surface of a planar substrate which is enclosed within the single edge contact cartridge package. Traces in the substrate interconnect the processor core and the auxiliary processing devices and connect to edge contacts of the single edge cartridge package. These single edge cartridge packages are currently being provided with two planar, oppositely facing surfaces, which extend parallel to the planar surface of the substrate to which the processor core and the auxiliary processing devices are mounted. Typically, the single edge cartridge packages include four end-edge surfaces which extend between the two planar, oppositely facing surfaces, perpendicular to the two surfaces and perpendicular to adjacent ones of the end-edge surfaces. Surface type, edge contacts are arranged into two double rows of contacts which extend adjacent to a single one of the edge-end surfaces, with each of the double rows of contacts extending on opposite facing sides of the package from the other of the double rows. The edge contacts are configured for engaging within corresponding contacts of a slot connector mounted to a system baseboard. Typically, the single edge contact cartridge packages are being mounted such that the end-edge surface which is adjacent to the contacts extends parallel to the major plane of a system baseboard in which the processor package is used, and the two planar surfaces extend perpendicular to the major plane of the baseboard.
Single edge contact processor cartridge packages have been mounted to system baseboards utilizing prior art support brackets which have upwardly extending, oppositely facing channels for receiving two oppositely disposed ones of the end-edges of the single edge contact cartridge packages which are adjacent to the single end-edge on which the processor cartridge package contacts are disposed. These prior art support brackets have been mounted to the baseboards utilizing threaded connectors, by passing threaded studs from underneath the baseboards and through corresponding mounting holes in the baseboards to extend above the top planar surfaces of the baseboards, and then threadingly engaging the studs with nuts. This type of securement method is rather cumbersome, requiring access to both sides of the baseboards to be able to mount the support brackets for the single edge contact cartridge packages.